The day I taught a camel to smile, Pushkar, Rajasthan

The Pushkar camel fair in Rajasthan, India is an epic spectacle. I felt like I'd gone back to biblical times. The huge swathe of the Thar desert where the fair is held, on the outskirts of the town of Pushkar, is filled with traders, farmers, villagers and of course camels! You can just wander freely around taking photographs, or at least you could 10 years ago when I visited, and I assume little has changed. The fair is held once a year, typically late October, early November, beginning at the start of the Hindu month of Kartik, which is determined by the moon.

As it's so long ago I don't feel like I can attempt to write a proper post on the experience, but I do have some favourite photos that I wanted to share, including my (successful?) attempt to teach a camel how to smile.

_{This is just one small corner of the entire fair}

The series of camel shots below is one of my favourites. They're extremely docile creatures, or at least they seemed to be. This one was just quietly hanging out chewing the cud when I stuck my camera in its face, but it played along.

_{Uh, maybe less with the teeth?}

_{Great, now try smiling evenly with both sides of the face?}

_{Beautiful! You got it! Now, turn to face me.}

_{And hold it! Perfect!}

They really are awesome animals.

_{Unlike horses, it seems you can lead a camel to water and it will drink. Lame observation of the day.}

The camels all had markings either branded on their hindquarters or as in this case below, painted on the neck and face. I also wonder whether the colourful bands many wore around the neck had some significance or if they were purely decorative.

The camels are used much like horses, as means of transport (and not only for birds as in the photo above).

All across the fair you'd come across people in huddles, haggling over price. These discussions seemed good natured and apparently could go on for days (the fair lasts two weeks).

In the midst of all this people (and camels) were just getting on with life. They are nomadic, so I guess one place is as good as another.

_{Sifting grain}

_{Having a smoke}

_{Lunch time}

_{Camel lunch time}

_{At home with the camel}

I could have wandered around here all day, but it does get exhausting under that hot desert sun. Even for a camel.

_{I'm only sleeping}

The fair ends with the full moon, known as Kartik Purnima in the Hindu calendar, the 15th lunar day of the month of Kartik.

_{Moonrise over Pushkar}

All photos by @freewheel